Microsoft made a multimillion investment in Foursquare out of the blue the other day, leaving us to wonder what's behind it. Bloomberg is now reporting that the partnership is actually for Cortana, Microsoft's upcoming voice-operated assistant in Windows Phone 8.1.

With the deal, Microsoft will get deeper access to Foursquare's database of places and reviews, so that Cortana and other WP apps give you personalized and location-aware recommendations, deals and tricks. “We’re building some contextually aware experiences to power some upcoming products in Windows Phone,” commented Zig Serafin, a vice president in Microsoft’s Bing search unit.

Furthermore, Cortana will also be able to tap your stock apps, like calendar, weather, calls, alarms and charging status, which will be used for managing basic phone functions with your voice, in addition to the Bing-powered info stream and the Foursquare crowdsourced wisdom that the personal assistant will be providing.

1.XperiaOptimusOne (unregistered)

Nokia always do dude. WP have to faster in improving. They done so many updates but they put important features in only this 8.1 update which is not good they should put this features in GDR1, I'm saying because they r giant software company. They shouldn't that much late.

NokiaFTW you obvious never do your homework.There no such thing as android virus only android malware. The user need to be trick into installing it. The malware can be remove 100% by removing the associated apps. The exception is when the malware app gain root access. Read more before you mindlessly attack.

I can care less about it being 2 years behind. Only haters that want to put negativity in the comment section make comments like yours. What I do care about though is that they're are actually doing it. Kudos to them for taking on a project like this. It's not an easy task. And if done wrong it will make the wp ecosystem worse so I have no problem with them making sure it's right.

i guess you missed the part where i said i do care. good job with your selective reading. also that article you keep linking means nothing to me. i dont go there for news nor do i see anyone else talking about it as being credible so using it to back you up doesnt help you. yes wp8 is lagging behind. it's new. it's only 15 months old. takes time to build it up. anyone with some kind of common sense would know that.

The app store on WP has all the most important and most popular apps and games, or unofficial apps that are far better than the official ones on other platforms. Yes, initially after moving from iOS or Android, you might feel the lack of the apps you used on your previous phone, but once your into the store, you'll find that there is either an official or unofficial app for everything. I'm saying this from personal experience. And what in aspects does WP lag behind? A notification system? Most WP users are happy with the current way of how notifications are shown, but still that feature is coming with WP8.1. Also coming with WP8.1 is Cortana, which looks to be on par or even better than Siri or Google Now. Tell me anything else WP lags behind in.

They aren't making sure it's right, they just got caught with their pants down in mobile in every way. They were late to the mobile OS market and now late to each and every feature. Worse yet they made Nokia wait for all of that and lost market presence and eventually their whole mobile business. Stop making excuses for incompetence and laziness, it what killed Nokia and it is what will eventually kill WP (think zune)

oh do you work for microsoft to know they arent making sure it's right? because if you dont then your comment is void. yes they did get caught being behind in the mobile world. but they are doing what they can to catch up. that doesnt mean input everything that ios or android has because they are not ios and android. and another news flash for you since you seem to not know about nokia's state before they went to windows phone. nokia was already in the black with market share and revenue before they went to windows phone. this is why they chose windows phone. and since they have they now are the major contributor to an ecosystem that is continuing to grow world wide. yes MS bought a PART of them but that's no different than google buying motorola. the different to you is that you like google so what they do is ok but since you feel compelled to be anti MS then them buying a PART of a company is food for you to hate.

16.1701nino (unregistered)

Exactly my point,whenever i even consider buying a windows phone reality hits me in the face.Apps missing,2 years behind in features,terrible updates.Microsoft give us reasons why to transfer and by the way they should have updates to the platform every 6 months not 18 months.And then they scratch their heads why WP doesn't sell.Microsoft is stuck in the old days,this is a brutal game,if you want to survive you have to be better then the competition and i'm sorry but Microsoft can't afford to be this slow.

News flash, gdr1 2 and 3 came out in 2013. That's 3 in 12 months not every 18 months like your misinformation says. Also the store apps have more than doubled since wp8 store went live 15 months ago. Did android or apple have 1 million apps in 15 months? It took them years to get to where they are. Stop expecting instant success. All good things take time to build.

26.papss (unregistered)

Why pick a malware infested, my space look alike OS that jitters on every scroll. No thanks ill stick with m$. I vote with my wallet and seeing how I purchase 5-6 phones, a few tablets every two years I'm pretty happy with m$.

Every company needs a change once in a while. But calling a WP a piece of junk or disrespecting people who use it shows your character, and how much denial you live in thinking that Android is the best OS in the world, which it is NOT.

I am merely stating a fact that WP does not have as much apps, features and choices as the other two better OSes. So it basically suck big time!! And those poor WP sobs get so butt hurt that they wanted world war 3. LOL!!!

41.papss (unregistered)

Keep drinking the kool aid that google feeds you.. No once have I as a user of wp8 thought that it sucks.. Unlike yourself I try them all before reading what someone else writes/says/blogs. I actually form my own opinion. You are a lemming and nothing more. I feel sorry for you.

For you it may suck. For someone like me that could care less about thousands of apps for taskmanger, battery saver, calculators, and confirmed 300,000 apps that show they contain some form of malware within it in form of ads or other issues. Yea no thanks. You can have that eco system (i have a note 3 but its use is limited).

My browser lets me do banking, there is no need for an app because the phone itself does what it is supposed to.

i have the games i care about, like spartan assault.

The phone has encryption that the others do not, i care about that.

The seemless integration of social apps within the phone, means i never touch the facebook app while on my device, in fact it's not even installed. No facebook app is installed, my phone lets me post update and go through my feed, what i need for on the go.

3rd party apps are usually better than the 'official' ones from other platforms.

As well, my phone lets me share, edit and create excel docs for my clients on the go. Out of the box no need to dig through another 3rd party app.

When your app selection includes the following "task manager, system cleaner, virus protection" and other tools that are almost needed for most droids then i dont know about that os as a mobile os.

Also it was google who played catchup recently by allowing to lock. ring etc their devices, mine has had that since win7.

I approve this comment. It's fair, reasonable, and represents knowledge from experience. Your comment is also well thought out and most importantly, unbiased! I too made the decision to migrate from android to WP. I must admit, I love having the option to tweak my phone to suit my needs. I picked up on this habit from the days of Windows Mobile. When WP7 released to the public I was disappointed, hence my decision to go with android. For those that don't know, Android isn't nearly as customizable as Windows Mobile. Rooting wasn't necessary. It was the simplicity off the iPhone that changed the tides. I must admit, the introduction off apps was a brilliant move. However, I remained reluctant to the fact because most apps at the time where possible on my web browser. You droid supporters deal with the flashing of roms and insane amounts of apps. Windows Mobile users enjoyed working with programs and unlimited tweaks. See the difference? I am a proud owner of a Nokia Lumia 928, and I'm not going back! Whenever new features and updates are added to my platform of choice, it is exciting for the WP community. Nothing will change this fact. Over time the opponents argument will change (App gap, 2 years behind, etc). In addition, overtime Windows Phone will not only improve beyond expectations, but will also surpass its competition in the forms of innovation, customer satisfaction, and worldwide acceptance!

I respect all users since I own a Nexus 7 & an iPhone 4 in addition to my Lumia 520. And yes, I admit that WP is not the most feature packed OS in the world but as a WP user I know what apps are present in the store and what aren't. Maybe some users don't get the specific apps they need in the store, but for most all of their favorite apps are present. And calling us WP users "sobs" isn't the right way to express your opinion. Sure, you don't like WP and prefer Android, which is your choice, but that doesn't mean that you have to troll WP users and the platform itself on every WP related article since you never spent a considerable amount of time with he OS amd your opinions are based on what false articles you see from Fandroids on the net.

These forums are so rediculously funny. on 1 forum you guys are blasting MS & Nokia & the decisions Elop made.
Here its all about the love. WTF....
Man the clows on WP doesn't sell Please WP is on what its second genoration still.
WP 7-8 under the new format compared to IOS 5-6-7 & Google Android 4-5-6 & look at them now; heading in the same minimalistic look.
All the hate is such a joke_ Its called being envious LOL

As I said before MS has Apple in their sites.
That Cortana is gonna be BAD ASS. Especially if their modeling Apple. I have to admit Siri is good.

I like all the platforms but MS has the best integration hands down. For me

I can't wait til they eventually make a slim metal design.
GOOD TOYS comes to all who wait. Its all in due time

If you need an app to bank, that means the browser was insufficient to begin with. While true, an app can help with touch screen navigation, in the end the full web based experience is better. I don't have a banking app. I have a desktop browser on my phone that lets me transfer between my two banks (credit union even), pay my car loan, deposit etc etc. So yea I guess I 'could' use an app, but its not 'required' like other platforms

Service related apps? I suppose, I mean did Apple not have that same we have an app for that hang over droid for the first few years? I would love to know what apps that are service related, not as flame bait, so we can know where those apps developers are to poke at. I mean this is for the life or death of a Mobile OS if it doesn't have an app for that.

sub-standard service? Really? Let me see what I can do out of the box, integrate with online cloud, simple integration with the major social apps (no need for an app because of it), mobile browser that works 95% of the time for full desktop mode for websites. I can create, edit, save word docs, excel, powerpoint, share files. I can NFC transfer, it makes calls, I can hotspot, I can get instant live feeds, etc etc etc. I haven't even installed an app from the store yet.

Basically you are stating, its ok to choose wp, but don't get mad when me a droid fan mocks you. Yet I laugh all day at work when a droid is exchanged, from the s4, note 3, htc one all because of software troubles, because google.process.xxxx failed to run even after a reset of the OS. Where custom rom's ruin their warranty and I tell them, well sorry don't install custom rom's.

Again I love my note 3, going to keep it, but in terms of OS, my 925 is the workhorse of the day.

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